dont forget this fail from last june --- it keeled over in shanghai while under construction:
http://surferjerry.com/weird/shangha...ng-falls-over/
http://gizmodo.com/5304233/entire-ne...nghai/gallery/
foundations are important!
edit: here's a list i found of some other big fails
Famous Building Failures in History
Greek Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Greece
Built in 352 B.C., the structure was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1300s. The pile of rubble became a quarry supplying stone to the Knights of St. John. Some of the sculpture it contained was recovered and shipped to the British Museum in 1856.
The Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt
One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the 350-foot-high Pharos, or lighthouse, was built about 280 B.C. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1200s.
Binishell Domes, Australia
Developed in the 1960s, architect Dante Bini's technique was to lay concrete over a balloon of plastic fabric. Two of these domes, both over Australian schools, failed when the complex construction method was not followed scrupulously.
C.W. Post College Dome Auditorium, Brookville, N.Y.
Built in 1970, this shallow dome on the campus of Long Island University collapsed under heavy snow and ice cover in 1978. No one was hurt. Faulty design was the culprit.
Kemper Memorial Arena, Kansas City, Mo.
Home to two Kansas City sports teams and the location of the 1979 AIA National Convention, the arena was built in 1973 but collapsed during heavy winds and rain in 1979. Miraculously, no lives were lost. No single cause was found for the accident.
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Kansas City, Mo.
Two crowded walkways in the newly built hotel collapsed in July 1981, killing 114 and injuring almost 200. It remains the deadliest structural failure in U.S. history. Analysis found that the walkways had not been built as they were originally designed.
Pier 34, Philadelphia, Penn.
The 91-year-old pier, which held a popular nightclub, collapsed in May 2000. Three people died and 31 were injured. An inspection three days before the accident revealed structural deficiencies that indicated the pier was in danger of collapse.
http://archrecord.construction.com/r...rch/8_00_1.asp